


Rings

by TheTacticianAlchemist



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Blood, Character Death, Childbirth, Chrobin - Freeform, Chrobin Week 2015, Cisswap, F/M, Female-Chrom, Genderbending, Insanity, Male-Robin, Murder, starts fluffy ends v sad indeed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5379434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacticianAlchemist/pseuds/TheTacticianAlchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin's gift for their marriage is to enchant their wedding rings. If one is in trouble or pain, the other is alerted.</p>
<p>[Chrobin Week Day Two: Alternate Universe</p>
<p>First timeline, Genderbend/Cisswap (Male Robin, Female Chrom).]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rings

**Author's Note:**

> DAY TWO! GIVE IT UP FOR DAY TWO!!
> 
> I'm weak for genderbenders/cisswaps, maybe that's why this is almost 6k words
> 
> also yes I try to explain first timeline Morgan

Robin sits reading his tome, making a note here and there. Now that the war against Plegia is finally over, nearly two years after Emmeryn was assassinated, peace is starting to slowly settle down over the kingdom once more. Gangrel died at the hands of the head princess of Ylisse, her tactician and now-husband at her side, three months prior. Since then, the peace talks were finished--mostly through Plegia being forced to unconditionally surrender since their leader was killed.

The Shepherds returned to Ylisstol, back to their regular training and patrols. Chrom celebrated her official coronation ceremony with a heavy heart--not even accepting the title of “exalt,” saying that she would do so later, when she felt worthy to take her elder sister’s place--but not long after, married the man she loved. And Robin loved-- _loves_ \--her back, more and more with each passing day somehow. Truly, he feels blessed. As soon as they had rings forged, he placed a spell upon them that he spent weeks reading up on--an enchantment that would let them know if the other was in pain or danger, if they were to be far apart.

Of course, being married to such a...an accidentally destructive person is a hassle sometimes, so Robin usually finds a little bit of time during the day to hide away by himself to do a bit of reading. It’s not that often that he isn’t found out, though.

“Robin?”

He sighs, even though a helpless smile spreads across his face. He hunkers down a little bit, hoping that the tall flowers and bushes in the garden will conceal him for awhile yet, even if part of him is silently egging his wife on to try to find him.

“Robin!” Chrom calls again, and Robin looks up to see her wandering about the garden pathways. He pretends to busy himself with reading, but watches her out of the corner of his eye. A puzzled frown sits on her lips, and she holds her toned arms akimbo on her hips. She looks about slowly, and then all at once she spots him.

Her ocean-blue eyes light up. “Robin!” she calls, rushing up to him. Robin rolls his eyes and gets to his feet, expecting her to start berating him for making her play hide and seek again. Instead, she barrels right into him, wrapping him into a tight hug and easily lifting him off his feet to twirl him.

“W-whoa, Chrom!” he shouts, his face heating. He hopes no one’s around to see his (slightly taller) wife easily throw him around like a sack of potatoes. “Put me down!”

But she’s already slowing to set him back on the ground. She keeps her tight hold on him and grins at him. “I have a surprise for you,” she says, and her whole face is glowing.

“Oh?” he says, trying to force down his embarrassment. “What is it?”

“Guess.”

He gives her a look. “You know I’m good at guessing, so you might as well tell me.”

“No! I want you to guess.”

“Frederick is taking a day off from annoying you about proper etiquette. You look about that happy.”

“Haha, no, but boy do I wish…” she mutters darkly, but immediately her smile is back. “But anyway! That’s not it.”

Robin rolls his eyes. “I dunno, Chrom… You’re pregnant.”

She grins.

Robin blinks at her.

Then he says: “You’re pregnant?”

The princess nods. “I asked Lissa and the nurses...and I waited a bit, in case something happened, but they guess I’m about a month along.”

Robin keeps staring at her.

She balks a bit. “I mean… You want a child, right? I-I know we only discussed it a little…-!”

Without warning, Robin starts to laugh, and this time it’s he who latches onto her tightly and swings her around. He stops quickly and presses his lips against hers in a deep kiss. He has to break away quickly for air, and says, breathless, “Of course I do! Of course! I…!”

He puts his hand over her stomach, and he wonders if he would have noticed the bump if she didn’t tell him about her pregnancy. Somehow, her abdomen feels incredibly warm, or maybe it’s just his imagination. He leans his head against hers. “A baby…”

Chrom smiles and puts her hand over his. “Our baby.”

()()()

After a certain point in her pregnancy, Chrom is forbidden to practice her swordsmanship. At first she’s adamant about continuing, but after being told by every nearby sane person that no, it’s probably not a good idea to pair a mistake-making pregnant woman with a divine sword, she eventually relents. Robin finds himself having to occupy her at the hours of the day when they’re not working on civil duties, which seems to be a pain for the both of them sometimes since she’s confined to “doing nothing fun.”

Still, Chrom eventually gets used to the situation, although they go on more walks than Robin would like. But the days pass, and the weeks, and fall turns to winter and then to spring, and it’s on a night in late April when Robin jerks awake, his enchanted ring squeezing his finger tight.

He sits up to find Chrom holding her rounded stomach and panting. “Chrom?” he asks, putting his hand on her sweaty shoulder, and she leans into his touch.

“It hurts,” she moans, and in the moonlight he can see fear flash through her eyes.

“Shh,” he murmurs, rubbing her arm and pulling her close. “It’ll be okay. You think the baby’s coming?”

She nods, her muscles tense.

He kisses her temple. “I need to go get the nurses, okay? I’ll just go find the nearest guard. I won’t be gone long.”

A whimper escapes her, but she nods again. “Y-yes, okay. I’ll stay right here.”

He smiles and laughs, hoping to ease her worry. “I wasn’t expecting you to go anywhere, Chrom.”

He gets out of bed and grabs his nearby jacket to drape around her shoulders. She curls the fabric around herself, sticking her nose into the folds. Robin leaves the room in a hurry and glances about the candlelit hallway before finding the closest guard stationed across the way. Quickly, he instructs the man to retrieve the midwives, and he only stands around to make sure the guard leaves before heading back into his room to be at Chrom’s side.

When he returns, she’s moaning again, doubled over and holding her stomach. He sits beside her and reaches out to grab her hand, and once again she leans into his touch.

“I was only gone for a minute,” he murmurs, kissing her cheek.

“I-I know,” she says, regaining her breath as the contraction starts to pass. She grips his hand tightly. “But don’t leave me again. I won’t forgive you if you do.”

For once he can’t tell if she’s trying to joke or if she’s being serious. Nonetheless, he gives her fingers a light squeeze. “I promise I’ll be right here.”

()()()

They name Lucina after the dawn light coming in through the window when she’s born. Chrom immediately develops a fierce bond with their little girl, who has the same blue hairs poking off her head. Early on, it’s quite apparent that their daughter is a momma’s girl, too. Robin wonders if maybe it was due to the terror he and his wife felt when the midwives’ faces went pale during the birthing process, the silent prediction that Chrom was perhaps not supposed to have made it through such a painful ordeal. That Lucina and Chrom were so close because they faced death together.

The days caring for Lucina and looking over the kingdom blur from days to weeks to months, and one morning, Virion and his vassal come to the throne room to request aid against the Valmese Empire.

The princess becomes inflamed against the mere idea of Walhart the Conqueror, but Robin calms her and makes her listen to reason. The war against Plegia had taken out a large chunk of their resources--and Plegia’s as well--so it would be incredibly difficult at the very least to “go to Valm and kick that dastard’s ass.” Robin manages to convince her that, for now, staving off the attackers from the other continent is the best they can manage. Nevertheless, in the days preparing to face the invaders at Port Ferox, he drafts plan after plan of worst-case-scenarios and countermeasures. It’s the only way to keep his mind at some level of ease, knowing that he has a plan to keep his family safe.

“Chrom,” he says one night on their march to Ferox, when the two of them lay in their bed for the night. He turns on his side to look at her seriously. “I know I’ll sound overbearing when I say this, but...please, be careful. It’s been a long while since we were in battle.”

The princess smiles and pats his cheek. “I should say the same to you, you know. I’ve been training, but you’ve been getting a little flabby.”

“Not much,” he protests with a bit of a pout. “But I’m serious, Chrom. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I couldn’t bear it. And with Lucina back at the castle…”

“Robin.” Chrom puts her hand on his chest, over his heart. “I married you so that I could stay with you. I wouldn’t leave you if I had even the slightest power to stop it. And I know you feel the same.”

He puts his hand over hers. “I do.”

“So trust me when I say that I will do everything in my power to make sure I make it out of any battle I’m in. I want to see Lucina grow, I want to grow old with you...I’ll trust in those plans you’ve made. So trust in me.”

Robin shuffles closer to her, like maybe he can meld into her body, her soul. “You and Lucina are all I have. I can’t lose you.”

“And I can’t lose you.” She smiles at him. “You have others. You have Lissa, and the rest of the Shepherds… Robin?”

He’s shaking his head. “They’ve never fully trusted me, Chrom. Knowing I’m Plegian, going through the war and losing some of them even with the best plans I could make… They can like me, or get along with me, but I’ll never forge the sorts of bond I’ve made with you with any of them.”

Her face falls. “Give them more credit, Robin. We’ve fought beside them for our lives, for the lives of Ylisseans.”

“And I’m the reason some of them are dead. And I’m not naive enough to believe that no one will die in war because of me, no matter what I do.”

Chrom says nothing, then pulls him into an embrace. At first, he tenses, but then she strokes his hair and he gives way like a broken wall.

()()()

Chrom keeps true to her word and doesn’t die in the battle at Port Ferox. None of the Shepherds do, to Robin’s relief, but there are heavy casualties. The Valmese soldiers were immensely skilled, many having to die before the remaining even began to surrender. Their cavalry was great, Robin notes, even after their horses had been at sea for months.

The sea, he muses, and then shares an idea with Chrom and their Feroxi allies that just might greatly reduce the number of enemies coming their way without having to go all the way to Valm. His idea is met with initial shock, but Basilio and Flavia are about as crazy as he must be, because they agree and begin making plans to gather their own boats, leaving him and Chrom in charge of recruiting help from Plegia.

To their surprise, the new king, Validar, is more than willing to aid them, and gives them a hefty load of ships, though he adds with amusement that he hopes he can at least receive a few back. Though the tall, thin man is outwardly friendly, something about him is off-putting to the Ylisseans, especially Robin. The way Validar looks at him is...incredibly unsettling.

“By all means,” Validar says before they leave, “when the foreigners are taken care of and matters are settled, come back to visit. Plegia is finally on the mend, and I would like to make sure it maintains friendly relations with our eastern neighbors.”

Without a hitch aside from a painful headache on Robin’s part, they leave the island and return to Port Ferox, from which they leave with a minimal amount of men on a maximum amount of boats. After a few days of sailing, they come across the Valmese fleet, and Robin’s plan is put into action, leaving the ocean as it should never be: A massive sea of flames, most of the Valmese ships burning while the Ylisseans retreat back to their homeland with only a small amount of casualties.

They celebrate that night, Flavia and Basilio revealing kegs of liquor they had stashed away for just this occasion, and once the main festivities are over, a stumbling Chrom drags a stumbling Robin into their shared cabin to continue in private.

They sail back to the mainland and divide up the people and supplies to take back to their respective locations. However, they leave troops and supplies behind on the chance that the Valmese will come; Virion and Cherche remain to head the operations, both rather subdued that as of now they can’t liberate their home country of Roseanne.

Robin and Chrom send a messenger to thank Validar, saying that they’ll have to take his offer at a later date as they desperately miss their daughter. As quickly as possible they pack up the Shepherds and return to Ylisstol, reuniting with their toddler after nearly three months away. Lucina is ecstatic and begs not to go to bed even when she yawns and starts nodding off as she plays with her parents.

That night, they retire to their familiar and missed bed, but before sleeping, Chrom takes Robin’s hand and puts it on her lower abdomen. “I don’t know for sure, it’s very early,” she says, “but I am late.”

Robin doesn’t speak, his stomach clenching like it’s been frozen. “Really?” is all he can say after a moment.

Her smile is unsteady. “I know… I’m scared too, with how hard Lucina was to have that night…” She shakes her head. “But I would not have it any other way, with you being the father. With it being our child.”

Robin’s whole body freezes, remembering the worry he felt that night, the worries he’s had since then with wanting to be careful with her. He wraps Chrom in an embrace and pulls her close, a hand in her short hair and his face in the crook of her neck.

“You should be happy,” she says, patting his back, her voice no longer wavering. “Another child, if I’m right. Another beautiful baby.”

“I know,” he says, feeling himself shake. “I know. I’m happy for that. I just don’t want you to…”

“You stay with me, I stay with you. You got that?” She kisses his cheek. “And we’ll get another beautiful child out of this. I hope he looks like you. Besides,” she adds, showing him the ring on her finger. “You’ve given me a good luck charm. We’ll be fine.”

()()()

Months start to pass, and Chrom grows more apparent of her pregnancy with each passing day. Lucina takes a shine to it, so to speak, and always asks about it and when her little brother or sister will arrive. They keep having to tell her “Not today, sweetie” or “Just wait a bit longer,” because the concept of nine months goes right over her little head.

One day, Chrom puts a parchment on Robin’s desk. He gives her a look before reading it over. His face pales.

“Chrom,” he says tensely, “this isn’t how the Ylissean royal family has worked.”

“Well, I’m accepting the title of exalt soon,” she says, “and I have the authority to change things. I just need approval from the majority of the advisers. They know you, this won’t be a problem.”

“You didn’t think to ask me about whether I want this? What about Lissa?”

“Lissa has never wanted such a responsibility, Robin.” Chrom sits down in a nearby chair, rests a hand on her stomach. “She’s always wanted to be like Emm, but she’s never expected to become exalt, nor really wanted to.”

“I don’t have the training to be exalt if you…” He can’t say “die.” He shakes his head. “I’m an outsider, from Plegia no less. This is why the royal family has always held onto lineage for titles, not marriage.”

“I don’t trust this kingdom to anyone else but you, Robin,” Chrom says softly. “I love this kingdom. I trust you with it like I trust you with my life.”

Robin doesn’t know what to say.

“In any case, this is just a precaution,” Chrom says. “Most likely, Lucina will take the title, when she’s old enough and I’m an old lady who can’t say her words right anymore. Don’t worry so much about it.”

She stands and moves to kiss his forehead. “If you say no, I understand. You don’t have to answer just yet.”

()()()

He didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Robin watches as Chrom, dressed in an elegant gown that hides stomach, goes through another ceremony, this time accepting the title of exalt that she has until now forsworn. The priest goes through a long speech of the history of Ylisse and its future, and Robin’s new role if something were to happen.

_I never want to be exalt_ , he thinks, hoping with all his might.

Not long after, a messenger arrives from Plegia with a letter written personally by Validar, extending his invitation once again. After a bit of deliberation, they decide they can’t refuse his request after his act of generosity, but of course Chrom can’t travel anywhere far away during her pregnancy for fear of strain. Robin, with an entourage for security, will go.

The night before Robin is set to leave, he sits with Chrom and holds her hands in his, leans his head against hers. “Keep your ring on, all right?”

She squeezes his fingers. “You worry too much… I always do, anyway.”

Robin leans his forehead against hers. “I… just can’t bear to be away from you for too long right now.”

“I’m not due until after you come back,” she assures him, pecking his lips. “Just be quick, and we’ll have our new child to take care of.”

“I will. I’ll be as quick as I can. I promise.”

()()()

Robin leaves the next day, kissing his wife and daughter goodbye and setting off on his journey with his guards. To make the trip quicker, Phila, Cordelia, and Sumia, along with several other of their sister knights, take him on the back of the flying horses. Robin rides behind Cordelia, on what she assures him “is the most gentle pegasus in the realm,” and he has to admit that he believes her; pegasi normally only like women, but this one takes to him quickly and doesn’t mind the extra passenger. Cordelia even lets him take the reins once or twice.

They take it easy on the journey to Plegia, not wanting to tire out the pegasi or themselves, so it takes them a couple of days. They have to stop at the border, but with Validar’s letter and apparent knowledge of their arrival, the guards let them through, and from then it’s a matter of hours until they reach the capital. Robin hasn’t been to the boneyard of a city since they defeated Gangrel, as they met Validar at a villa on Carrion Isle the last time; aside from the eerie vibe he gets from the supposed skeleton of Grima, the city seems to be in great spirits, with the people smiling and laughing. He’s glad they can do such things again.

Validar greets them personally at the front gate to the palace, which shocks Robin. The king shakes his hand, and once again, despite his pleasantries, Robin feels a shiver go down his spine.

“Welcome, welcome,” Validar says, ushering him inside and signaling for his servants to assist the pegasus knights in attending to the mounts. Phila and Cordelia hurriedly leave Sumia in charge of their mounts and follow after the two kings, maintaining a respectful distance.

“I thank you for having me,” Robin says, forcing polite cheer into his voice, and for the rest of the afternoon it’s like that: Pleasantries, Validar showing Robin around the castle, Validar boasting about Plegia’s advances and lamenting its fallbacks. Robin takes care to watch what the man does and says, but it’s impossible to tell what Validar is thinking.

Robin joins him for dinner that night, and on the next they begin talks about how to further benefit the diplomatic relations between the two countries. It starts as Robin expected it to be: Long, arduous, and downright boring at times, but as twilight starts to leak through the windows, Validar signals for dinner to be brought.

“That’s enough politics for today,” he says as servants lay the table with food and drink. One of them tastes and drinks all of it, and it’s only when he’s finished that they take food for themselves.

“Have some of the wine,” Validar suggests. “We have the finest selection in all the country here. Perhaps it might be different from Ylissean tastes, but it’s far more palatable than the Feroxi swill they have up north.”

Robin hides his scowl at the jab to his closest allies, but does as told and takes a sip. Instantly the taste seeps into all corners of his mouth, delicious and intoxicating. He has to force himself not to take big gulps at a time, and puts the drink aside for the time being.

“Where is the Lady Aversa?” Robin asks, changing the topic.

Validar doesn’t concern himself with his food, instead folding his hands together and leaning his elbows on the table. “Off attending to matters of the country on my behalf. She won’t be back until late in the evening, or tomorrow, perhaps. She asked to extend her apologies.”

Robin glances toward Phila, who stands to the side of the room along with Cordelia and Validar’s servants. The leader of the pegasus knights gives a slight nod of her head, signaling that she hasn’t seen the dark rider either.

“Please, Robin, tell me,” Validar continues. “I have heard rumors about you… Mainly concerning your heritage coming from the land right here beneath our feet.”

The tactician considers his words carefully. “...It is no secret that after I buried my late mother, I sought to escape Gangel’s dastardly reign. Ylisse was the closest option.”

“A common boy, marrying the exalt and becoming next in line for the throne,” Validar comments. “How fascinating.”

“Only until Lucina is old enough,” Robin replies, hiding his unease.

“A child of Naga as well as a child of Grima,” Validar says with a chuckle. “I never thought I’d see the day.”

His voice becomes edged. “I don’t consider myself Grimleal.”

“It is not a matter of consideration, my blood...brother,” Validar says. “It is a matter of fact. In any case… Your father must have taught you the legendary tactics you’ve used in battle?”

“I had no father. My mother taught me.”

“She must have been some woman.”

“She was.”

“This may be a jump, Robin, but might I ask why you aren’t Grimleal?”

Robin wants to turn the interrogation around, but instead he takes another mouthful of his wine. “I don’t want to give my faith to a god of destruction.”

“Grima is not just a god of destruction, Robin. He is a god of rebirth. Grima appears when sin is at its height, then razes it all to the ground so it may grow anew someday. It is not unlike a wildfire.”

Validar leans forward, his gaze boring into Robin’s. “All Grima needs is a suitable avatar to possess. Combined with the mana of the avatar, he will deliver us all from sin, and take the faithful to a glorious eternal afterlife.”

Robin’s stomach lurches, and he doesn’t answer.

“I must confess something to you, Robin,” Validar says, leaning back in his chair.

Robin’s eyes dart toward the man who checked their food for poison. He stands upright, unperturbed.

_Let me in_ , something hisses in Robin’s head. _Give me your BODY!_

“I had a son, once,” Validar goes on. “But his mother stole him from the hierophant’s church when he was but a small child. I imagine he has no recollection of me. It’s a shame; I had much to teach him.”

“Milord?” Phila says, hurrying to his side, and Cordelia comes as well, gripping her lance tight.

Robin is shaking, his stomach hurting and his pores sweating and his eyes seeing spots. His hands grip the chair tight. “W-what did you poison me with?”

“If it were poison, my servant would be dead,” Validar says calmly, gesturing toward the man. “Your wine was merely tainted with blood magic, tailored specifically to awaken you to your true purpose.”

Robin bursts to his feet despite the pain he feels in his whole body. “You cannot be my father!” he spits, even though he’s put it all together in his mind by this point. “I cannot be Grima!”

Validar rises as well, grinning. “You are, my son. Accept it. Don’t fight who you really are.”

Phila draws forth her lance and points it at Validar. “You’ll undo your spell if you know--”

One of the servants throws a knife at her, but she deflects it quickly. All at once Validar’s servants are upon them, battling Phila and Cordelia.

Robin screams and pushes past them, stumbling and shaking as he lurches to Validar, who watches with a smile. He only sees red as he clamps his hands around Validar’s throat, digging his fingers into the man’s neck.

“Aversa will finish the pre...parations,” Validar gasps out, smiling and triumphant. “It won’t be long…”

A surge of rage washes through Robin, and he snaps the man’s neck.

Robin suddenly hisses and clutches his hand. His finger--his ring--it’s aching, burning on his skin--

“Chrom,” he sputters, and without any thought--he can’t think about anything but Chrom--he stumbles to his feet and abandons his fellow Shepherds.

He leaves the castle, throwing aside anyone who tries to stop him with a power he isn’t aware he possesses. He heads to the stables, where a fight has broken out between the Ylissean pegasus knights and Plegian soldiers. At least two of the pegasi are flying without riders, flapping about in a panic as the knights try to ward off the arrows being shot at them.

“It’s the vessel!” one of the Plegians shouts as Robin approaches, his eyes trained on one of the riderless pegasi. “Be careful--!”

Robin blasts him aside with a burst of electric magic.

“Robin!” Sumia swoops down beside him on her pegasus. “Where are Cordelia and Commander Phila?!”

“Chrom is in danger.” Robin can only see his wife’s face in his mind, her expression pale and pained and stained with blood. “I need--”

Sumia’s eyes widen, and she whistles. One of the pegasi neighs in response and alights on the ground while the other knights perform a low to the ground cover. Robin ignores the lack of saddle and bridle on the pegasus and mounts it. Sumia whistles again at a different pitch and slaps the pegasus’s hindquarters. At once, the animal pumps its wings and takes off, speeding back toward Ylisse. A handful of the other knights follow and keep pace, but one is hit by an arrow and falls toward the ground.

Robin tightly grips his mount’s mane. “Chrom, Chrom,” he repeats again and again, heedless of anything else around him.

_Give me your body_ , the voice in his head says again, like it’s driving a nail into his skull. He sees black and purple and red, a vision of lines and eyes like the one on the back of his hand. He thinks of Chrom again, and the sight leaves his mind’s eye. But the presence remains.

()()()

Hours of travel later, when they’re descending toward Ylisstol, Robin’s ring grows cold.

()()()

Robin bursts through the doors, his clothes soaked from rain and sweat. Frederick comes to his side immediately.

“Milord, I think it is best--”

“Where’s Chrom,” Robin snaps. “Take me to her.”

Frederick’s face is pale. He nods, then heads down the corridor. Robin follows beside him, his steps hurried. His breathing is fast. His heart feels like it’s beating staccato against his chest. He knows her fate but he can’t bear to accept it.

“She went into labor,” Frederick explains, his voice low and rough and his eyes are red-rimmed. “She was carrying twins…”

They reach Robin and Chrom’s room, but Frederick blocks the door. “Milord, please…”

“Get out of my way,” Robin snarls, pushing the knight aside and opening the door.

The smell of blood and death fills the room. Lissa sits at the edge of the bed, her face in the sheets as she cries and Lon’qu pats her back. Her hand is clutched around Chrom’s.

Chrom.

The exalt lays in bed, her skin pale. Her eyes are closed.

She seems asleep.

Robin hurries to her side. “Chrom? Chrom, wake up.” He puts his hand on her cold cheek. “I’m back, like I said I would be.”

She doesn’t wake up, nor even unconsciously lean into his warmth.

“Robin…” Lissa raises her head. “S-she was…”

“I-I’m back,” Robin continues, taking Chrom’s left hand and skimming his fingertips over the cold metal on her finger. “Validar laid a trap for me, but I escaped… I came back to you. I’m back. I’m sorry I left.”

“Robin,” Lissa repeats, her voice breaking. “S-she was asking for y-you the whole time…”

“Wake up,” Robin says again, and this time he leans forward and kisses her frozen lips. “I’m home.”

“Milord,” Frederick starts, and he puts his hand on Robin’s shoulder.

The tactician springs to his feet and slams the knight against the wall. “She’s not dead!” he screeches in his face. “She’s not dead! She can’t be dead! Why isn’t she waking up?!”

“M-milord,” Frederick says again, and he seems broken. He shakes his head. “Out of nowhere, she started to get upset. She was calling for you, and seemed to think that you were in trouble. The stress caused her labor to start early, and what with twins… but they yet live, milord; she named one of them ‘Morgan’--”

“It’s my fault.”

“Milord?”

Robin’s eyes go wide and he stares at nothing.

_It’s your fault._

“It’s my fault.”

The thoughts in his head that aren’t his and the words that start to tumble from his mouth all mix together. He doesn’t know which is which. “Everything is _your fault_ because I did this to her, the rings, _the rings_ , and you had to be back here and _I promised I’d never leave her_ \--”

He grips his head and his nails dig into his scalp. “Everything is my fault,” he continues. “Chrom is dead Chrom is dead Chrom is dead _Chrom is dead and it’s all my fault, all your fault, all my fault_ \--!”

Frederick tries to restrain him, and Robin sees red again and blasts the knight with magic. Lissa screams as Frederick falls to the ground--then it’s Lon’qu trying to stop him and he grabs Robin’s fists when he tries to punch the Feroxi man, but he’s too late to dodge Robin’s headbutt. Robin throws him to the ground, ignoring Lissa’s protests.

He turns back to Chrom and pulls the sheets away from her body. Lissa screams again, but a shock of electricity blows her across the room. Robin delicately picks up Chrom’s body, so oddly light, and he holds her against his chest. Her head lolls against his collarbone.

He turns and leaves the room. There are guards swarming all around, unsure of what’s happening, and all Robin can think is that he doesn’t want to lead these people to lead Ylisse. Chrom was so much better suited for it than him. Her actions had been well-intended, but so misguided. He couldn’t lead them.

_So why not let them all burn?_

Robin mutters a spell under his breath, and the air around him crackles with electricity. The soldiers who try to get close to him are shocked and blown back. He walks right through the crowd.

He catches sound of a shrill cry, and he stops short. “Morgan,” he says slowly, testing out the word on his lips.

He goes toward the nursery he and Chrom started to prepare. The door is locked, but Robin breaks the handle in his hand and pushes it open. Nurses stand inside, a pair of babies held in their arms.

His eyes water. “They’re really alive… They’re so tiny…” He nudges Chrom’s immobile body. “See? Look at how tiny Morgan are…”

The nurses back up against the far wall, their eyes wide. Robin smiles at them. “Please, let me see my new children. Chrom and I want to hold them.”

A few moments later, Chrom’s arms are arranged to hold onto the squirming babies while Robin holds onto them all. They should be heavy, but he hardly notices the weight. He wipes at his son’s cheek. “A little blood right there...gone.”

He smiles, but then a frown falls upon his lips. “Lucina…”

He wanders the hallways, looking for his daughter. Anyone and everyone he sees is running away from him. He doesn’t expect anything less, what with how terrible an exalt he would be in comparison to his wife. The voice in his head starts to come back.

_Make them give you Lucina, why don’t you? Why don’t you come to terms with it all and lend me full control? I’ll get her for you._

Robin shakes his head. “I want to find my daughter myself, thank you... “

But no matter where he goes, no matter how long he looks, he cannot find Lucina. Her guards must have spirited her away.

Everything clicks into Robin’s head then and there.

He kisses Chrom’s forehead. “When all of this is done, I’ll see you smile again.”

She doesn't respond.

He kisses his twins’ foreheads. “Morgan, I promise you, one day you’ll see your mommy smile. And Lucina will be there, too."

Neither respond aside from squirming in their blankets.

“We’ll all be happy, and together, and our bonds will last forever. You’ll see, Morgan. It might take a little while, but…”

He closes his eyes.

Grima opens them.

"Everything...will be as it should be."

**Author's Note:**

> it's revERSE CHILDBIRTH PROMPT *screams and runs*


End file.
